Right off the heels of the great Ba'al comes the successor episode FERAL. I can't knock this episode for not being as good as Ba'al as it would have taken a lot to live up to it, but at least it had a horror premise that I was very interested in. Paying homage to such famous slasher flicks like Wrong Turn and The Hills Have Eyes, this episode Feral is about a grieving couple (excellently played by Aaron Tveit and Tiffany DuPont) whose 5-year son disappeared during their camping trip in the cold opening scene. Flashforward 10 years to the present and the now divorced couple are drawn back to the woods of their traumatic experience by a hunter (well played by Blake Shields) who claims to have seen their son and gives them a picture as proof. During the search, the trio run into the local oddball ranger (a miscast Cody Fern, more on him later) who appears to know more than he's letting on.
While the premise was interesting and involving due to the persuasive performances of the actors playing the parents, I REALLY disliked Fern's character! For some inexplicable reason, the writers decided for Fern's character to be Australian, which I really don't get the purpose of that. He's successfully played 2 American characters in previous AHS seasons and does a great American accent, so I don't understand why the need for the Aussie accent. Also, the accent sounded incredibly off and it reeked of bad acting. Also, why was the character so apathetic about everything and why would he be crazy enough to continue living and working in a place where there are all these cannibalistic creatures roaming the woods?
Additionally, there were several plot holes with this episode. The first is less of a plot hole and more of a complaint, but the parents looked the same in both the flashback and the 10-year flashforward. People change a lot after 10 years and they both looked the same. Next, why weren't they angry at the ranger for keeping quiet about seeing their son the day he was kidnapped? You're face-to-face with someone who could have helped save your son and you just give him a dirty look and move on? And off of that, why did the ranger take the chance to incriminate himself by revealing this information to them when he seemed hellbent on keeping Feral Nation a secret and was part of the government conspiracy? Finally, why did the Ferals decide to attack the ranger after 10 years when they had so many opportunities to take him out before? He wasn't the one who messed with them. It was the tracker and his crew.
Overall, while I quite liked the creepy woods setting, plot, and acting of the episode, unfortunately, the writing and execution was lacking in parts. I will say that the writers really nailed the scary, horror movie vibe, but unlike Ba'al, there were also plot holes along with it.
9 out of 13 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
